Fear A Mere Illusion
by xX.Hoshika-chan.Xx
Summary: "Fear. A weakness we all have that count us as human. Fear is only real, when one wants it to be. To most, it's just an illusion."


**Ok, so this is just a simple oneshot that I thought up while listening to music. I'll still update ****_Two of a Kind_** **like normal, but I really wanted to post this as a oneshot. I hope you enjoy it, Minna-san! Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, no matter how much I want to. **

Fear; A Mere Illusion

The pain... A simple dull ache... Who knew being ignored could cause so much pain? Lucy sure didn't. Every one has that one fear. That one fear that makes them human; a weakness per say. While other were common things like lighting or thunder, Lucy's was one only caused by years of pain. Hers was loneliness. After being abused by her father after the death of her mother, Lucy had always been hesitant to trust, but once she'd come to Fairy Tail she finally thought she had found a place to call home. Boy, was she wrong.

After finding out what they really thought of her, she's had enough. After stepping out of the shower, Lucy went to her wardrobe and picked out the white and purple outfit from Tenrou Island. Once pulling her hair back and skipping makeup, Lucy pulled out a white and purple suitcase and got to work.

All was well at the guild. People were laughing, drinking, and just having fun. Fairy Tail was Fairy Tail, and everything was fine. Almost everything. Master Makarov sat on the bar, sipping out of his draft. Looking over the heads in the guild, he saw that she wasn't here. He sighed. Sooner or later she was going to leave, and when that happened he realized he would lose his favorite child. Sighing once again, he muttered into his beer, "Disappointing."

Looking up to her Master, Mirajane looked confused. "What's disappointing, Master?" She asked while cleaning a mug.

"You're lack of common decency," he replied gruffly.

"Master!" Mira gasped, gaining the attention of the whole guild. "What makes you say such a thing? Fairy Tail loves everyone!"

"Apparently not everyone," Master said again while looking for a familiar blonde head.

"Jii-chan! How could you say such things!" Natsu yelled while wrapping an arm around a teary Lisanna.

"Master, you're being very rude!" Erza scolded. Suddenly the guild went very silent as Master's overwhelming magical power seeped into the air around them.

"LOOK WHO'S NOT HERE!? MY FAVORITE CHILD HAS BEEN HURTING FOR SO LONG, AND YOU'RE CALLING ME RUDE!?" Masters voice thundered around the hall, causing all to be silent.

"Master... You pick favorites?" Mira asked, disappointment picking into her voice. She though she was his favorite.

"Lucy..." Gray said suddenly. Eyes landed on him.

"Nani? What did you just say?" Cana questioned, as she, for once, wasn't drinking.

"Lucy's the only one not here... So she's your favorite?" Gray questioned, making his voice louder so all could here him.

"Lucy? Why is Lucy your favorite?" Natsu questioned, confused.

"She's pure." Was all Master said.

In response to their silence, Master hopped behind the bar and pulled out a lacrima ball similar Mira used durning the Phantom Lord incident.

"What are you doing, Master?" Levy questioned as they all gathered around the ball.

"Showing you what must be seen for you to understand her pain," Master replied. Turning it on with his magic, Master silenced the crowd. Once quiet, he proceeded with a small speech.

"Everyone is scared of something. While other's have a fear of spiders, lighting, or thunder, some rare, pure people have actual fears. Fears that can only be caused by years of pain and torture. Lucy has one of these rare fears. Now fear is not a weakness; everyone has one. It makes us human. Don't judge anyone on their fear. But Lucy...hers is special. Hers is loneliness.

"Loneliness is a harsh fear. After being abused mentally AND physically by her father, she was shunned basically out of existence. So she ran away. After meeting Natsu, she was given a second chance at being loved, and having a family. But unfortunately, you idiots messed up her chance, and now I'm afraid she might be leaving us."

Gasps filled the room as several people, including Levy, burst into tears.

"What do you mean she might be leaving Fairy Tail!? It's her home!" Natsu cried, a sharp pang in his heart.

Master just meekly shook his head. "Look, and you shall see. " All eyes went to the Lacrima ball as a mist swirled inside, before an image appeared. A small girl of about eight was seen skipping down very expensive looking hallways, holding a small rice ball with a face on it. A bright smile adorned her face, causing the room to light up.

The Fairy Tail member looked at the ball with wonder.

"That's..." Natsu muttered. Master nodded.

"That's Lucy, at age eight... The starting point of all her problems. You may not know it, but Lucy's mother died on July 7, X777... The same day, month, and year the dragon's disappeared. At this time," Master said while pointing to the ball. "That date was almost a year ago. After going into a depression deep enough to try suicide twice, she found comfort in her keys; her friends. The date now is July 1, X778."

Many gasped at the thought of little eight year old Lucy trying such a thing. At eight years old, too!

Turning back to the ball, Master once again hushed the crowd. "And so it begins."

Humming a small tune, Lucy skipped down her hallways, taking extra care not to drop her rice ball.

"Lucy-sama, where are you going?"

Lucy turned to see her favorite maid, Mrs. Spetto.

"Oh! Spetto-san! I'm going to give Father a present!" Lucy cried joyfully while showing the maid her handmade gift. The maid nodded. "But Lucy-sama, shouldn't you be the one getting gifts, instead of giving them? It is your special day, after all!"

Lucy shook her head. "I'd rather give joy to others on this day, rather than get such silly things wrapped in bows and frills. I love seeing my nakama smile! And Father is my nakama, so I want to make him smile!"

Spetto-san shook her head. "Young Miss, you are truly TOO kind. Even after what you Father has done to you, you still wish to see him smile?"

Lucy grinned. "Of course! No matter what they do, I'll always love my nakama! That's what Mother taught me, so I shall use it!" With that said, Lucy said goodbye to her maid, and skipped off to her father's office, happily humming her tune.

Once reaching the office, Lucy knocked twice, before calling out. "Father, can I come in?"

"It's Sir to you, Young Lady," Her father said, his voice slightly muffled by the door.

"Can I come in Sir?" Lucy giggled.

"No, I'm busy. Ask on of the maids to help you with your problems," Jude Heartfilia said sternly, wanting to be left alone. Ignoring his request, Lucy turned the knob and went inside.

Walking slowly up to the giant desk, Lucy happily placed her rice ball on the desk. "Papa! Look! I made a rice ball with your face on it! Eat it so you can do good at work!" Lucy happily clapped her hands as she proudly presented her work.

Barley looking up, Jude continued on with his work. "Lucy, I'm busy. I can just have the chefs bring my food. In fact, if you have spare time to make trash like this, go study in leadership instead."

Getting his message to leave, Lucy frowned, then turned to exit the office. Suddenly, the little blonde was struck with an idea. What if she told him it was her birthday? Then maybe he would spend the day with her like old times! Quickly turning around Lucy stumbled back to her father.

"Um... Etto... Papa, today is a very special day. Do you know what? Know what? Today's my special day! Know what, today's-" Lucy was cut off by the sound of something splitting on the floor. Looking down, she saw it was her rice ball, it's face was now maned as it lay squished in the floor.

Lucy looked up with shock in her eyes, pupils dilating in pure fear. Her Father towered over her, his face contorted in rage and anger. "LUCY! YOU ARE BEING A NUISANCE! I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE! NOW GO BEFORE YOU GET THE PUNISHMENT!" Jude's chest rose up and down at his outburst. Lucy trembled with fear and shock, her little body still trying to process his words.

"F-Father-" Her words were once more cut off, but this time with a slap to the cheek.

"LEAVE!" Jude thundered as he pointed to the door. Lucy tripped as she ran to the office door, cutting her knee open. Blood trickled from the wound, along with her red, stinging cheek. Getting back up, Lucy ran out if the room, slamming the door behind her. Leaning back against the door, Lucy felt salty tears trickle down her flushed cheeks, a burning sensation throbbing on her injured one.

"P-Papa... T-today is m-my birthday..." Lucy sobbed quietly to herself. Getting up while rubbing her eyes, Lucy smiled softly.

"M-maybe he will come around for dinner. I'm tired of eating alone. I'll come back later to fetch him. After all, I don't want to have all my maid friends running along after me." Nodding with her plan, Lucy headed back up the hall and to her room.

The scene sifted once again as many of the Fairy Tail members were crying. "Lu-chan-hic-never told m-me it was this b-bad!" Levy sobbed into Gajeel's shoulder.

Many nodded in agreement. "Some of us never had parents, and felt unloved for a long time. But to have a family that shun's you into oblivion is not manly!" Elfman was holding back tears, and he hugged a sobbing Mira. Master nodded. "This isn't even the worst of it. Dinner was worse as Jude gave her a broken arm. In fact, this might just be the softest among many for Lucy."

"NANI!? You mean it gets worse?!" Natsu yelled, getting the attention if most members. Master nodded his head sadly. "Just watch. This is the night she ran away." Eyes wet back to the ball as the image changed.

Pain. So much blinding pain. Lucy was used to his drunken habits, but it was never this bad. Never.

"YOU LITTLE WENCH! HOW DARE YOU BREAK UP WITH THAT BOY! IT WAS THE ONE WAY TO MAKE MY COMPANY BIGGER, AND YOU BLEW IT!" Jude drunkenly screamed as he punched his daughter. Lucy fell to the ground at the force of his blows.

"I never liked him! I only put up with him because of you! I tried, I really did! But he crossed the line last night when he tried to take advantage of me! A proper boyfriend would never do that!" Lucy fought back, rolling away from a nasty kick. "That's what mother taught me, and I shall use it!"

The blows stopped, and Lucy looked up to see Jude angrier than ever. "DON'T YOU DARE MENTION LAYLA'S NAME IN THIS HOUSE! YOU'RE THE REASON SHE DIED, YOU BITCH!"

Lucy backed away in fear. With his short temper running on alcohol, Lucy knew better than to stick around. Turning to run away and up to her room, Lucy was stopped by a yanking of her hair. Screaming in shock, Lucy was turned around to the evilly grinning face of Jude Heartfilia.

"W-what are you doing?" Lucy asked slowly, knowing he came up with a vile plan. Her Father grinned again.

"As punishment for mentioning your mother's name, and for ruining my chances of making even more money, I shall break each and everyone of your keys, one by one while you watch. How does that sound?"

Lucy's world stopped. All she could hear was the muffled sound of her father talking, and the pounding of her own heartbeat in her ears. Lucy vaguely saw her father pick up a key and laugh.

"How about this shiny gold one with the pretty wave design, hmm?" Throwing Lucy to the ground, Jude grasped Aquarius's key with both hands, and bend it towards a U shape.

Lucy could feel her spirits pain, she could hear Aquarius's screams of torture as the key was bent even more. The blonde felt anger and magic power rise within her as the key was bent even more. Lucy slowly stood, clenching her hands into fists.

"Spirits aren't tools." Lucy murmured slowly. Jude stopped his torture.

"Eh? You say something, wench?"

A soft, yellowish gold outlined Lucy as her magic power rose even more. "SPIRITS AREN'T TOOLS! THIER MY NAKAMA! THEY FEEL PAIN, LOVE, THEY ARE JUST AS HUMAN AS THE REST OF US!" Tears fell from Lucy's eyes as her emotions caused her magic power to rise even more.

"AS LONG AS I AM ALIVE, I WILL PROTECT MY SPIRITS AND NAKAMA FROM EVERYTHING I CAN! I WILL MAKE SURE THEY ALWAYS SMILE, AND THAT THEY WILL NEVER FEEL THE PAIN I HAVE FELT IN THIS HOUSE!" Her magic power started to die down and Jude dropped the key he was holding.

"As long as I'm alive, I will protect my friends! For, what is the point of magic if you can't protect your friends with it?" Lucy asked softly. She picked up the golden key, and stoked it softly, comforting the pained spirit. Lucy then turned around and walked away from her stunned father, not caring about her injuries. "I love you, Father. I always will. I may forgive you, but know this," Lucy stopped and looked over her shoulder. "I will never forget."

Walking away, the scene started to fade, and soon the Lacrima ball was filled with mist once more. By now, everyone was in tears, and most stunned to silence. Oh, the irony they felt.

"We're just as bad as her father!" Cana cried, before drowning herself in booze. Macao rubbed her back for comfort. Levy was full out crying on Gajeel, who was also shedding a few tears. Erza was punching a wooden pillar, and Gray was unmoving as he stared at the floor.

Natsu shook his head, still not wanting to believe what he just saw. It was his fault. All his fault that Licy was in pain right now. How could he call himself her best friend, let alone nakama for doing this to her!? The dull ache in his heart turned to a full out aching throb as tears finally made themselves present on his cheeks. Lucy, HIS Lucy needed him, now more than ever. He wasn't going to make this mistake again. Never again. Slamming his fist on the bar counter, Natsu got the attention of the Master.

"Where's Lucy?"

Exiting her apartment, Lucy sighed. Another job alone. She scoffed. The one thing she was scared of was the one thing she was doing right now. Lucy shook her head. She shouldn't act like this! Being all doopy-downer was the worst thing she could be right now. Sighing, the blonde started to make her way to the train station. Still, she mused, it would be nice to take a mission with her team now and then. She knew that they wanted to catch up with Lisanna, but did they really need to take almost three months to do it?

Grabbing her ticket and thanking the ticket booth man, Lucy made her way to her train. Sighing, Lucy handed over her ticket and started to board the train. She didn't get very far, though.

"LUUCCCYYY!"

"Huh?" Lucy turned to see Team Natsu running towards her at full speed. Of course, Natsu was ahead of the rest, reaching Lucy first.

"Natsu? What are you doing here?" Lucy asked, confused.

Natsu responded by pulling her into a tight hug, as if he would never let her go. "Lucy," he breathed while inhaling her sweet vanilla scent. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"N-Natsu..."

"Luce... I'm real sorry. I've been a real jerk lately... Can you forgive me?"

Lucy pulled away, but still remained in Natsu's arms. "Natsu, of course I'll forgive you... But I've got to go, I'll be late for my mission," Lucy said softly. Natsu remained where he was, afraid that if he let go, he'd just be putting her in even more danger.

"Luce..."

It all happened fast, but to the two people involved it was like a life time. Natsu leaned forward and tasted sweet strawberry. Her lips were soft, plump, and driving him for more.

Lucy felt a burning hot sensation in her chest as she stood there shocked for a few moments, until she kissed him back. The burning sensation never died. More like it increased as the single sweet kiss deepened.

"We'll it's about time." A voice from behind brought the two teens back to reality as the pulled away, both best red. They turned to smirking Gray, and a just as beet red Erza.

"S-shut up, Icehead," Natsu stuttered cutely. Lucy giggled.

"Come on guys, the trains about to leave, and we have a deal guild to take down," Lucy said as she hopped onto the train.

Settling into their seats, Natsu laid in Lucy's lap just like he used to, and inhaled in more of her intoxicating scent.

"Luce," he mumbled before the effects of his motion sickness kicked in.

"Yea, Natsu?" Lucy said as she ran her fingers through his soft, salmon locks.

"Don't worry, Lucy. As long as you're with me, you'll never be alone. I'll make sure for you, Fear is just a mere illusion."

**So, I hope you enjoyed it! Like I said, I got this idea based off of a song. So I'll see you when I update! **

**~Hoshika-chan (•^•)/**


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